If last year was defined by headline-grabbing return-to-office mandates and executive ultimatums, 2026 is shaping up to be the year the dust actually settles – and what’s emerging from it is more nuanced than most predicted.
Here at JK Moving, we’ve been on the ground floor of this shift. We’ve moved companies downsizing from sprawling campuses, and we’ve moved others expanding into premium Class A space they couldn’t access a few years ago. The picture isn’t black and white. It never was. But what’s becoming clear is that the forces shaping commercial office moves in 2026 are more structural, more intentional, and in many ways, more permanent than the RTO debates suggested.
Let’s get into what’s actually happening and what it means if you’re planning a move, a redesign, or a complete relocation this year.
The great compliance: RTO in 2026 is a different story
Remember when 51% of employees said they’d quit rather than accept a non-negotiable return-to-office mandate? That was January 2025. Fast forward one year, and a national survey by MyPerfectResume found a striking reversal: Today, only 7% of workers say they’d quit over an RTO policy. Researchers are calling it “The Great Compliance.”
What changed? A tighter job market, for one. When remote roles are scarce and applicants are plentiful, employees have less leverage. But there’s more to it than just economic pressure. The nature of RTO itself has evolved. Companies have gotten smarter about how (not just whether) they bring people back.
That said, the headlines about five-day mandates from companies like Amazon, PNC Financial, Novo Nordisk, Paramount Skydance, and NBCUniversal have dominated the conversation without telling the full story. Gallup’s data shows that as of 2025, 52% of remote-capable US employees are in hybrid arrangements, 26% are fully remote, and only about 21-25% are fully on-site.
The bottom line: RTO is real, but it’s not a wholesale reversal. For commercial moving purposes, this means the demand for office space isn’t rebounding to 2019 levels, but it’s absolutely creating a very specific kind of demand. And that’s what’s driving the moves we’re seeing.
The office market in 2026: A tale of two (or three) tiers
Commercial real estate analysts have been talking about a “flight to quality” for a couple of years now. In 2026, that flight has fully taken off – and it’s creating a bifurcated, or really trifurcated, market.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 US Outlook, one theme stands out above all others: strong demand for high-quality space, and not enough of it. Class A and prime office space is tightening fast, while older secondary and tertiary buildings continue to struggle. Sublease inventory has been declining. Construction deliveries hit their lowest rate since 2013, with only about 1.7% of total office stock in the pipeline.
CBRE projects that leasing activity will surpass 2019 levels in 2026, driven largely by large tenants returning to the market and a growing scarcity of prime space. For companies looking to relocate into quality space, this is a real consideration. Act now, or potentially wait.
Put plainly: High-quality office space has good demand from end users. Lower quality space is at risk of obsolescence. That gap is widening, not narrowing.
Why companies are actually moving right now
From our perspective at JK Moving, the reasons clients are relocating in 2026 fall into a few clear buckets, and they’re meaningfully different from what we were seeing even two years ago.
Right-size, don’t just downsize
The era of the sprawling open-plan headquarters is over for most organizations. What we’re seeing instead is a smart consolidation: Companies trading large, underutilized floor plates for smaller, purpose-built spaces that are genuinely designed for how people work today. The goal isn’t to cut costs (though that happens), it’s to create an environment worth commuting to.
Steelcase’s recent research found that 96% of leaders plan to update their workspaces within the next two years, and 70% of organizations have already moved or plan to move to higher-tier properties. The move isn’t just about location, it’s about the quality of the experience.
The AI footprint reshapes space needs
Here’s a trend that’s easy to overlook: AI adoption is having a measurable impact on how much space companies need. Entry-level administrative roles have been among the most affected by AI-driven efficiency gains. Fewer employees needing fewer desks, rather a much higher demand for collaborative, creative, and technology-enabled spaces where human judgment and creativity genuinely add value.
Markets Group’s 2026 commercial real estate outlook cites estimates that AI-driven labor adjustments eliminated between 50,000 and potentially millions of white-collar positions over the past 18 months. That’s not all bad news for commercial real estate. It’s accelerating the shift toward quality over quantity in office footprints.
Federal workforce ripple effects
The DOGE-driven federal workforce restructuring has had real ripple effects on commercial real estate markets, particularly in Washington, DC and surrounding areas, which is a geography we know well. As federal agencies and contractors reassess their space needs, it’s creating both disruption and opportunity. If you’re in markets where federal employment is a significant factor, the timing of your move decisions matters more than ever right now.
The role of company size: Still the biggest variable
One constant from our 2025 analysis holds true heading into 2026: Company size remains the single biggest determinant of workplace flexibility.
67% of companies under 500 employees remain fully flexible on remote work, compared to just 10% of Fortune 500 firms, according to the Flex Index, a joint research initiative between Work Forward and Boston Consulting Group. Large corporations, by contrast, are driving the five-day mandates and the flight to premium Class A space. Mid-sized companies are in the most interesting position, navigating the push and pull between employee expectations and leadership preferences with fewer resources than their enterprise counterparts.
Industry matters too. Technology, marketing, finance, and legal continue to lead in offering hybrid flexibility. Healthcare, education, manufacturing, and transportation remain predominantly on-site. If you’re planning a commercial move, understanding where your industry falls on this spectrum should shape everything from your space requirements to your timing.
What this means if you’re planning a move in 2026
Here’s our honest take, based on what we’re seeing across the companies we serve:
The window for premium space is narrowing. If your organization is seriously considering a relocation into top-tier office space, 2026 is the year to act. CBRE’s outlook explicitly warns of growing scarcity of prime space by year-end. Once the best buildings are spoken for, the options shrink fast.
Don’t move to move, rather, move with a strategy. The best commercial relocations we execute are the ones driven by a clear vision of how the new space will be used differently than the current one. Whether that’s consolidating footprint, upgrading amenities to support RTO, or reconfiguring for a genuinely hybrid workflow, the physical move is the last step – not the first.
Hybrid work is the baseline, not the exception. The North American flex office market is projected to nearly double — from $14.9 billion in 2025 to $28.9 billion by 2030. If your space strategy doesn’t account for flexible, on-demand workspace needs, you’ll be behind the curve sooner than you think.
Final thought: The office isn’t dead. It’s just earning its keep.
The narrative has shifted. We’re not debating whether offices matter. We’re finally asking what they need to be to matter. And the answer, increasingly, is intentional, high-quality, flexible, and worth the commute.
For companies planning commercial moves this year, that shift creates both urgency and opportunity. The urgency is real. Premium space is getting scarce, and the companies acting decisively are the ones locking in the best options. The opportunity is equally real. A well-planned relocation into the right space, at the right time, can be one of the most powerful signals a company sends to its employees, its clients, and its future talent.